


Grief

by frenchposie



Category: Epic (2013)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Lost Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-15
Updated: 2014-03-15
Packaged: 2018-01-15 19:00:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1315741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frenchposie/pseuds/frenchposie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the death of Queen Tara and the battle with Mandrake, Ella (oc) helps Ronin cope with his grief.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grief

The queen had been chosen and Ronin was going to take care of her.  Of course he was.  But, she wasn’t Tara and Ella knew that.

**Epic**

The comfortable lightness of a new queen of the forest filled Ella, making her feel as though her being was filled with the uplifting scent of newly blossomed roses.  She pulled up her long white hair and tied a grass strand through it before walking into the main chamber of the tree castle.

Observant eyes looked throughout the room.  Leafmen were stationed at the doors and lined under the window.  The Queen wasn’t in the chamber and Ella wondered where she had gone.  Off on a walk of the forest to meet her subjects it seemed.

Ella’s dress of pink petals drifted as she walked across the room and into the adjacent hallway.  Queen Tara had been her best friend since she was wee.  They had been children together before Tara was chosen.  After Tara was chosen, she made Ella her advisor. 

Over the years, Ella had seen Tara and Ronin grow closer than merely queen and head guard.  They were best friends.  They were bonded in ways that the average being only could speculate.  But, Ella knew they were as close as two being could be. 

Ella had brushed her hair until it was soft as silk.  She figured she would have to fight for her place in the palace.  But, that wasn’t what made her come out of her chambers and cross through the palace – earning her looks of sympathy from those who saw her.  She had a friend to check in on.  One that had been through so much and lost his only real support.

“How are you doing, Ronin?” she asked as she entered his chambers unannounced and uninvited.

He was still bruised from the fight with Mandrake.  His black eye had turned purple and a number of scratches and bruises still adorned his face and neck.

“I’m fine Ella,” he said without looking at her.  He made himself busy doing things that were meaningless, but they had the distinct advantage of not letting him look at her.

“Who do you think you’re speaking to?  I know what you were – know what you lost,” she said, gently.  “So much happened so quickly, the death, MK, the flower bud, the blossoming, the battle with Mandrake.  This is the first time you’ve really had time to sit here and think about things.”  She came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. “I want to know what you’re thinking, Ronin.  I want to know what’s in your mind.”

“No… you don’t.”  His voice was quiet and restrained.  Hurt.  His eyes were turned away from her and she didn’t have the heart to force him to look at her.

“You’ve been charged with being the captain of the new queen’s guard.  You won’t have much more time to process.”

He grunted at her and she knew that she had given the wrong tactic.

“I miss her, too,” she whispered, allowing some of her own heart to bleed out through her voice.

“There was no one like her before and there won’t be again,” he said, the same restraint evident in his voice. 

Her hand was still on his shoulder.  “I know.  What was it like seeing her – in the bud – that last time?”

His breath hitched as he thought about it, but still her hand remained on his shoulder.  “She smiled at me… mentioned my… smiling at her.”  Another hitching breath and a deep exhale.  “Her eyes were so alive… like she was going to be there, right there again.  But no… it’s, um, it’s not to be.”  Another deep sigh.

Ella knelt down in front of Ronin, feeling her heart break as she watched the strongest man she had ever known shed tears for the woman he loved.  “Come,” she whispered, her hand, still on his shoulder pulling him close.

With another small sigh, he embraced her offer of a hug and wept.


End file.
